BRIDGEPORT — For 16 years — including one World Series championship season — Paul Konerko played baseball for the White Sox, my favorite team.
On Saturday, his big retirement send-off, I got to the game two hours early and pulled into parking Lot C to find it was nearly packed — which almost never happens these days.
As I walked to the stadium, I viewed a tailgating scene that looked a lot like early September 2005 — the year Konerko and the boys won the World Series — but it felt a little more emotional, a strange mix of excitement, sadness and pride.
At 35th and Shields, the wide-eyed crossing guard stopped traffic and told the sea of fans eager to cross the street and get inside the stadium, “Be careful out there. We’re sold out tonight, and man, there sure are a lot of you.”
He was right — more than 38,000 fans packed the place to give Ol’ Paulie the kind of goodbye crowd he deserves.
The frenzy of Sox fans who got to their seats early bought up all the game programs and waited in ungodly lines for hot dogs, beers and the bathroom like it was a playoff game.
Oh, how I miss White Sox playoff games.
In seats all over the stadium, folks shared their favorite Konerko memories — like his game-clinching grand slam in the World Series, and other moments that were special for different reasons.
My favorite Konerko memory that means nothing to most people happened in the first game of the 2005 American League Division Series against Boston.
The White Sox won 14–2, and in the third inning, Konerko hit a two-run bomb.
Now, that’s not one of Paulie’s most iconic home runs.
But I’ll never forget the excitement I felt when he hit that dinger — and how that crushing playoff victory on my birthday even made getting older feel exhilarating. It was the moment I thought, "These guys could actually win the World Series."
On Saturday, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Sox fans cheering for Konerko as a video of his greatest hits during a stellar career played on the big screen high above center field, it felt like old times.
Better times.
Winning times.
After 16 years on the South Side it's all those memories that have made Paulie more than “just a baseball player,” as Konerko's son described his dad to the crowd Saturday.
For Sox fans, he became part of our families.
And in some ways, the six-time All-Star was the best of us — consistent, loyal, humble and determined.
We could count on Konerko to show up, game after game, year after year, and give his all no matter what.
I’ll miss Paul Konerko. He's one of the great ones.
We were lucky to have him.
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